Joan Walsh (6:45 p.m. EST): OK, I ate something, and I feel better. Maybe I'll let myself pay attention to the exit polls, a little.
If the reporting from Pennsylvania is correct, it's a big Obama win. Howard Fineman on MSNBC is saying that a lot of local pols told him the last minute GOP use of Rev. Wright backfired. We'll be pulling apart the Pennsylvania results for a long time, if these numbers hold.
I will wait until tomorrow to say how rewarding it is to watch Gov. Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter just kick ass on behalf of Barack Obama, just like we knew they would, even though they were Clinton supporters. Talk of how the extended Clinton run would destroy the party was, ahem, really...well, I'll save that for later.
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David Talbot (6:42 p.m. EST): I like what Chris Matthews said in response to Pat Buchanan, when the old culture warrior asserted on MSNBC that if Obama wins big, he won't have the same mandate that someone like Reagan did in 1980. Not true, said Matthews. A pro-Obama vote is a vote for a more vigorous and more competent government -- a government that is capable of delivering on healthcare and energy and that can build roads and bridges. The kind of government we once had -- you know, before Reagan.
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David Talbot (6:30 p.m. EST): Tonight promises to bring many moments of deep satisfaction. But perhaps one of the most pleasurable is the prospect of neverhaving to gaze on the revolting Cheshire grin of Joe Lieberman again, as he flanks John McCain onstage at rally after rally. The election results should soon wipe the grin off Joe-the-Traitor's face. And the wide Democratic margin in the Senate should render him completely irrelevant.
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Joan Walsh (6:10 p.m. EST): That Virginia late-decider number is a little scary, but otherwise it looks good.
But I'm going to step away from the computer and television for 15 minutes to grab the lunch I forgot to eat.
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Glenn Greenwald (5:55 p.m. EST): Exit polls from Fox:
White men
Indiana: McCain -- 54-44
Ohio: McCain -- 63-36
Virginia: McCain -- 58-39
Howard Wolfson said that, in 2004, Bush won white men in Virginia by 40 points, so Obama was cutting that margin in half. Obviously, "white men" is, demographically speaking, one of the best groups for McCain.
New voters
Indiana: Obama -- 73-27
Ohio: Obama -- 69-31
Virginia: Obama -- 63-36
Late deciders
Indiana: Obama 53-45
Ohio: Obama 54-39
Virginia: McCain 55-44
Young voters (nationwide)
Obama: 69-28
New voters
Obama: 72-27 (nationwide)
Obama: 63-36 (Virginia)
Independents (Indiana)
Obama: 56-41
Indiana independents sided with Bush in 2004
Clinton Democrats (Ohio)
Obama: 82-16
See the post below regarding the irrelevance of exit polls. I'm posting them in the spirit of full information, letting you decide what to do with it.
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Joan Walsh (5:50 p.m. EST): Am I the only one who's too nervous right now to blog about what this Obama win means?
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Gary Kamiya (5:40 pm EST): MSNBC just reported the first exit polls (of priorities, not votes). 62% of voters polled said the economy was their biggest concern, 10% the war in Iraq, 9% for terrorism. What's interesting is that only 35% said they approve of the war in Iraq (that has to be one of the lowest figures ever) while 71% said they were concerned about terrorism. Besides the economy, this is one of the biggest reasons that Obama stands on the verge of a landslide: the voters have totally rejected the GOP's specious claim that the war in Iraq is the "front line of the war on terror."
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Glenn Greenwald (5:40 pm EST): Marc Ambinder has the first batch of exit poll numbers. Read and trust at your own peril. For numerous reasons, the rational thing to do is to ignore them, or at least assume they're inaccurate. And according to Fox, exit polls reveal that a paltry 38% think Sarah Palin is qualified.
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